High-pressure synthesis and superconductivity of a new binary barium germanide BaGe3.

A new binary barium germanide BaGe(3) was prepared by high-pressure and high-temperature reactions using a Kawai type multi-anvil press. It crystallizes in a hexagonal unit cell with a = 6.814(1) Å, c = 5.027(8) Å, and V = 202.2(5) Å(3) (the space group P6(3)/mmc, No. 194). The unit cell contains two layers along the c axis composed of Ba atoms and Ge(3) triangular units. The triangular units stack along the c axis to form 1D columns in which the adjacent Ge(3) units turn to opposite directions. The columns, therefore, can be described as the face-sharing stacking of elongated Ge(6) octahedra. Each Ba atom is surrounded by six columns. BaGe(3) is metallic and shows superconductivity at 4.0 K. The band structure calculations revealed that there are four conduction bands mainly composed of Ge 4p and Ba 5d orbitals. From Fermi surface analysis, we confirmed that three of them have a large contribution of Ge 4pz orbitals in the vicinity of the Fermi level and show a simple 1D appearance. The remaining one contains Ge 4px, 4py, and Ba 5d contributions and shows a 2D property.